Gov. Charlie Crist on Monday sharply criticized efforts by President Barack Obama and the Democratic-controlled Congress to overhaul the nation’s health care system.

He said health care overhaul was being pushed, “almost literally down our throats,” by Democrats in Washington – and strongly opposed by Republicans. “We need to stop it in its tracks,” he said.

Crist didn’t mention Obama, but said Democratic congressional leaders, “want to have government control everything. They want to get a bureaucrat between you and your doctor.”

Without offering specifics, he called for a “free enterprise approach” to health care.

Crist didn’t explicitly brand himself as a conservative and didn’t chastise his U.S. Senate opponent, Marco Rubio, by name Monday night – but he gave Broward Republicans a dose of conservative talking points and a few subtle swipes at his opponent.

The governor said he’s vetoed $700 million in legislative earmarks since becoming governor in 2007 – a jab at Rubio, who was House speaker during the first two years of Crist’s governorship. He followed with another shot at Rubio, who isn’t currently in office.

“When you’re governor, you have to lead. When you’re in office, you have to perform. I’m not just a guy who’s running for office and promising you stuff. I’m a guy who’s actually done it,” he said. “I don’t change my stripes from day to day.”

Crist said he’d take Florida values to the nation’s capital.

“I’m running for the Senate because Washington, D.C., needs a dose of Florida common sense. They are missing the boat,” Crist said. “The more time that passes in Washington, the more I see that Washington has lost its way.”

Crist’s 20-minute speech was delivered in his trademark style, with the governor recognizing people in the audience by name and offering effusive praise for many. Like Rubio last month, he didn’t answer questions.

Rubio has been making inroads against the governor in the race for the 2010 Senate nomination.
And Monday’s Crist speech, which followed a similar Rubio appearance before the Broward Republican Party in October, was widely anticipated. The Broward Republican Party usually attracts one reporter, occasionally two. On Monday there were about 10 reporters and photographers from a variety of news outlets.

Crist got a welcome befitting a reality television celebrity at Monday night’s gathering. It helped that Crist timed his arrival perfectly, getting there early and allowing a mob of Republicans to cluster around Crist. Dozens of people wanted him to pose for pictures.

A month ago, Rubio arrived for his turn at the Broward Republican microphone after the meeting had already started. He received an enthusiastic response, complete with cheers from his supporters who packed the back of the room.

Crist’s welcome was more enthusiastic. Still, sentiment is difficult to gauge accurately.

“You can’t tell because nobody’s coming out [publicly],” said Ed Kennedy, Broward’s state Republican committeeman, who so far hasn’t endorsed Crist or Rubio. “The trend is going against the governor’s philosophies, not only in Broward but around the state.”

Kennedy was publicly critical of Crist earlier this year when the governor appeared with President Barack Obama in Fort Myers at a town hall meeting in support of the federal government’s economic stimulus package.

Ken Haiko, a former party vice chairman, is in the Crist camp. He thinks the governor has the vast majority of committeemen and committeewomen – the activist backbone of the party – in his camp.

Jay Siegel, a committeeman from Coral Springs active in the Republican Business Network, said there’s more Rubio support among activists than Crist supporters realize.

“There may be a number who are probably closet Marco fans who may be a bit shy about admitting it. They may jump on the bandwagon as Marco’s popularity increases.”

Among Crist’s supporters was Gwen Watson, a black Republican activist. Earlier on Monday, she got the news that she was passed over for the appointment to fill the vacancy on the Broward County Commission. Crist instead named Dania Beach Commissioner Al Jones.

But Watson remains a steadfast Crist supporter, and was near the governor passing out Crist for U.S. Senate stickers to anyone who wanted one.

She said he’d make a great U.S. Senator “because of his record. I look at his record and what he’s done for blacks and the civil rights movement. He gets it.”

Comments

sorry mr crist, but you dont live in average america. you live in rich america. us in average america would like our health coverage changed. its funny that you all continuously say that this system will but bureaucrats between us and our doctors, because that is exactly what is being done today. men at desks make your health decisions. not you. not your doctor. the insurance company. and they do what is in their best interests, whatever saves them the most money.

and are you seriously touting that you do so much as governor? name ONE REAL thing youve done for floridians. not that its all your fault, but Florida has plummeted since youve taken office.

Who listens to Crist? I think this is his Last Stand. Any intelligent human being would never elect this career politician to another elected seat! This guy is a do nothing LOSER who is wasting our tax dollars day by day. Wasn't Bush enough? When are the idiot backwoods Florida voters going to elect in anything for our governor except Greedy Republicans?!?!

Crist must be stopped! I am a dem who voted for McCain, only to hopefully balance the scales so we are not lead by only one party, and the other party blames the other who blames the other. a vicious and never ending cycle.

We need a third party, and we need to elect one member of the party to congress from each state, so the 50 votes they have would be the balance of power in congress. They would need each other to get anything done.

Once again Gov Crist does NOT speak for the people of this state. The truth is we MUST reform health care in this country. We must reform thinking on what the government should do for the welfare of this nation. Health care should be a right of every citizen. The additional cost will be balanced out by significant decreases in costs to support chronically sick. It is time the government started to think about the long term good of the people, not the rich. Shame on you Mr. Crist.

Crist you are an arrogant, incompetent ahole of the first degree. You were put into office by the banking and insurance industries, the NRA & have destroyed our state.

We need that health insurance, we have no jobs in Florida. You gave away a 1.1 billion dollar contract to your international friends from Spain rather than to Florida contractors you lousy good for nothing.

Floridians know what you have done. You will never be elected to the senate after what you did to us. Have the decency to just shut the hell up. Go back to Europe where you can sleep with all the boy toys you want.

You say you want healthcare reform as it is being proposed b/c you're tired of insurance bureacrats coming b/n you and your doctor? What do you think the government is? The largest bureaucratic entity in this country! Do you not think they will also deny claims and limit tests and procedures? You're a fool if you believe this.

Also what about Tort Reform? Why won't the Dems pass this? Oh that's right they're all lawyers and want to protect their cronies ability to sue every facet of medicine for every frivolous issue possible.

Good thing Lord Crist is not running again, because he'd be voted out if he was. And, being he won't achieve his goals of being elected to the Senate, I guess soon he'll be in the unemployment lines like everyone else.... (too bad that part won't actually happen).

I was there, sitting in the back because the committee members has reserved seating in the front 2/3 of the room.
It was funny when he criticized the Democrats for pushing a massive government health plan in the same breath as criticizing them for wanting to cut $500 Million out of medicare.
It was funny when he said that the national deficit is almost at an astronomical $12 Trillion and, "like Ronald Reagan used to say" we need to cut government spending, without mentioning that a look at the deficit charts shows the deficit explosion started in 1981.
It was funny when he said that the answer to rising health care prices wasn't government, because government makes everything more expensive, but free-market competition.
It was funny how he explained that he thinks that we found a way to fund an expansion of Tri-rail (and some other rail line up in Central Florida) without raising fees or increasing government spending without letting on that it is because of recent Federal money being spent on it.
It was funny listening to the people next to me grumble about how immigrants are ruining this country when he started to explain about a 14 year old immigrant who came to this country shining shoes for $5 a day. The look on their face when he told the audience that that 14 year old boy was his grandfather was priceless.
Besides all that, he was really friendly, tried to shake everyones' hand, and looked really good for the cameras.

At least Marco Rubio served to the full term limit in the house, unlike Charlie Crist, whose mind is never on re-election, but is always on the office he is running for after this one (as a career politician running for president or vice president in 2012). As a Democrat is is heartening to see the extreme right of the Republican Party pulling them farther from the center with Rubio. Anyways, Kendrick Meek will have no problem beating Marco Rubio, and Kevin Burns will be able to beat Charlie Crist by outing him (because then it will be two gay candidates, Charlie and Kevin).

I want to know how many of these politicians have stock in Humana and other private insurance companies?
We know congress members already have the best insurance and get it for free. So surely they are not concerned about their healthcare.
Secondly - has anyone seen what one of Humana's 5 office buildings looks like here in Louisville, KY. Well it has an all marble front 2-3 stories high with a water running down the marble front. With huge marble columns.Everyone with Humana should really see where their premiums go.

Charlie Crist had to read from his notes. Rubio spoke from the heart. The room was packed but isnt that expected? He is the Governor for Christ sake. Rubio had the same amount of people that the Governor had-this speaks loudly of how unpopular Crist is.

Anyone notice how the only ones SUPPORTING Lord Crist in this blog are party members? Like BREC Member and Leadership? I feel sorry for them--the Republican Brainwashing Machine has taken hold and sadly, there is probably no cure for their condition....

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About the authors

Broward County is an unusually rich territory for political news. The Broward Politics blog is devoted to the politicians, the activists, the parties, the policies, the issues, the elections - in the county and its communities.

ANTHONY MAN is the Sun Sentinel’s political writer. Concentrating on local political people, parties and trends, he also covers state and national politics from a South Florida perspective. He's coordinating the Broward Politics blog with contributions from reporters throughout the county. Before moving to the Broward political beat, he covered politics and Palm Beach County government for the Sun-Sentinel, including touch-screen voting and the Supervisor of Elections Office. He's also covered municipal, county, state, and federal elections and made repeated reporting trips to Tallahassee for regular and special sessions of the Florida Legislature. He joined the Sun-Sentinel in 2002 after covering state and local politics in Illinois. Like so many others in South Florida, he's originally from a New York suburb (Rockland County).

BRITTANY WALLMAN covers Broward County and news. A 1991 University of Florida graduate, Wallman started her journalism career at the Fort Myers News Press. She and her husband Bob Norman have two young children -- Creed and Lily. Wallman was born in Iowa and spent half her childhood there, the remainder in Oklahoma. She has covered local government and elections her entire reporting career -- including covering the infamous 2000 recount here in the presidential election. (She has a Mason jar with a "hanging chad'' inside to prove it.)

LARRY BARSZEWSKI covers Fort Lauderdale and Wilton Manors. In the past, he has reported on Palm Beach County government and schools, aging and social issues, Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach and state legislative sessions. He wrote for the Denver Post, Bradenton Herald and Miami Herald before joining the Sun Sentinel in 1988. A Massachusetts native, he lives in Boca Raton with his wife, Maggie, and teenage daughters Jessica and Jackie.